RFID tag sales expected to surge

Sales of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tags were expected to increase dramatically through 2009, as major retailers and suppliers adopted the technology, In-Stat said. Revenues were forecast to jump to US$2.8 billion in 2009 from US$300 million last year. By far the biggest RFID segment in coming years will be cartons or supply chain, In-Stat analyst Allen Nogee said in a statement. This segment alone is forecasted to account for the largest number of tags or labels from 2005 through 2009. Wal-Mart Stores, the US largest retailer, was driving the market by mandating its top suppliers to use the technology, In-Stat said. Target, Albertsons and the US Department of Defence also had RFID initiatives. Widespread adoption of the technology in retail was expected to take a couple of years to ramp up, given that todays tags were still expensive, In-Stat said. Tags cost from 15 US cents to more than US$100 each. Privacy issues were also expected to slow adoption. Legal and ethical issues remained to be sorted out worldwide. Beyond supply chains, the second largest market for RFID during the five-year forecast was tracking consumer products on store shelves, In-Stat said.